Colorado suspect faces 142 counts in shooting rampage

Victims of the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting, assisted by an advocate (left), arrive Monday for the arraignment of accused shooter James Holmes. The shooting killed 12 people and injured nearly 60.
Ed Andrieski Associated Press

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Colorado prosecutors charged James Eagan Holmes on Monday with 142 criminal counts, including first-degree murder and attempted murder, in the shooting rampage July 20 at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater.

Holmes, making his second court appearance, was formally charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder — two for each of the 12 people killed and 58 wounded. For each victim, Holmes was charged once for showing deliberation and once for showing extreme indifference to human life. Both counts carry a maximum death penalty upon conviction; the minimum is life without parole.

The second set, charging him with indifference to life, might be "a fallback theory" in case prosecutors fail to prove intent, according to Marianne Wesson, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School and an expert in criminal law.

"That is because prosecutors in jury trials sometimes find it difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the actor had the capacity to deliberate in a rational way," she said.

There has been speculation that Holmes, 24, who had been under psychiatric care, will mount an insanity defense.

During the hearing, which lasted less than an hour, Holmes sat impassively, much as he had during his first court appearance last week. He did not enter a plea.

He spoke only once, replying "yes" when District Court Judge William B. Sylvester asked him about a hearing date. Officials set Nov. 13 for the preliminary hearing.

Victims of the shooting — one in a wheelchair — and many of their relatives attended the hearing.

Relatives of the youngest shooting victim killed, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, were among the first in line for one of 35 courtroom seats reserved for victims and family members. Relatives entered the courtroom first.

Mary Hansen of Denver, an aunt of Veronica's mother, said family members came to support one another, including Veronica's father, Ian Sullivan, who Hansen said "is just broken up."

They also came to see the accused shooter, Hansen said, "to have some sense of who he is, like a character study almost, to put a name and face together.

"It was important to come today to see him as what he was," Hansen said, calling Holmes "an evil, diabolical presence."

Among those who showed up was Rita Paulina, 45, who was in a wheelchair, wearing hospital bracelets and with one leg wrapped in gauze.

Don Lader, 27, was at the theater that night and came to the hearing in a Batman T-shirt, saying he has watched the movie twice since the attack. Lader said he was confident justice would be served.

"We're here, we feel, to represent strength that the community has," Lader said. "We're here to represent a lack of fear of what this individual tried to cause. The man was a coward. We're here to show we have strength and now we're willing to fight back."

Analysts said the overwhelming evidence means it's likely there's only one main point of legal dispute between prosecutors and the defense.

"I don't think it's too hard to predict the path of this proceeding," said Craig Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney in Denver. "This is not a whodunit. ... The only possible defense is insanity."

Under Colorado law, defendants are not legally liable for their acts if their minds are so "diseased" that they cannot distinguish between right and wrong.

"The big question now is this: Is James Holmes competent to stand trial?" said Barry Latzer, a professor of criminal justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. "The answer to that question depends on how persuasive the shrinks are after they examine him and report their findings."